A collection of Magic Band album reviews.
I am particularly short on reviews for the earlier albums, if any one has something which they feel would be useful here, please let me know. Cheers.
Individual album reviews
- Buddha's 1999 reissues of Safe As Milk and The Mirror Man Sessions - site exclusive by Graham Johnston.
- Mirror Man by Lester Bangs, from 1st April 1971 Rolling Stone.
- Trout Mask Replica by Lester Bangs, from 26th July, 1969 Rolling Stone.
- Trout Mask Replica by Buddy Seigel, from 25th March 1983 Los Angeles Times.
- Lick My Decals Off Baby by Terry Byrnes. One of a series of reviews published in the 10th December 1970 Rolling Stone.
- Lick My Decals Off Baby by Ed Ward. Another from the 10th December 1970 Rolling Stone.
- Lick My Decals Off Baby by Langdon Winner from 10th December 1970 Rolling Stone.
- Beefheart: A Prime Cut - Lick My Decals Off Baby, by 'RW' from 2nd January 1971 Melody Maker.
- Lester Bangs reviews Lick My Decals Off Baby from the March 1971 edition of Creem.
- John's Heart - Lick My Decals Off Baby, by Tom Clark from 1972, Grossman Publishers.
- Spotlight Kid by Colman Andrews, from March 1972 Phonograph Record Magazine.
- Spotlight Kid by Lester Bangs, from 30th March 1972 Rolling Stone.
- Spotlight Kid from June 1972 Stereo Review.
- Spotlight Kid / Clear Spot by Jim Washburn, from 12th January 1995 Los Angeles Times.
- Clear Spot by Bob Palmer, from 31st December 1972 Rolling Stone.
- Getting Closer To The Captain - Clear Spot. This excellent piece was written by Lester Bangs and first appeared in January 1973's Creem.
- Clear Spot by Robert Sandell, from 9th February 1997 Sunday Times.
- Giant Step For The Captain - Unconditionally Guaranteed, by 'S.P.' and taken from the 6th April 1974 edition of Sounds.
- Beefheart: No More Magic - Bluejeans and Moonbeams. The source, author and date are unknown.
- Bongo Fury by Ed Ward from January 1976 Creem.
- Neat Vliet - The Original Bat Chain Puller, from 6th August 1977 Sounds.
- Bat Chain Puller from the September 1998 edition of The Wire.
- Takes Up Cudgel Against Catatonia - Shiny Beast, from October 1978's Wax Magazine.
- Wild Magic - Shiny Beast, from January 1979's Feature magazine.
- Shiny Beast from 26th January 1979 edition of Down Beat.
- Doc at the Radar Station by Jon Matsumoto, from 16th June 1994 Los Angeles Times.
- The Zany Rock Of Captain Beefheart - Doc at the Radar Station, by Robert Palmer, from 28th September 1980 New York Times.
- Doc at the Radar Station from 30th November 1980 Circus.
- Doc at the Radar Station by Carman, from January 1981 Down Beat.
- The Captain Is King - Doc at the Radar Station, by Declan Lynch. Source and date unknown.
- Ranting and Raven - Ice Cream For Crow by Edwin Pouncey, from September 1982 Sounds.
- The Pop Life - Ice Cream For Crow, by Robert Palmer, from 22nd September 1982 New York Times.
- Ice Cream For Crow by David Fricke. Taken from the October 1982 edition of Musician.
- Ice Cream For Crow by Joe Harrington. Taken from the November 1982 edition of Sweet Potato.
- The Lost Episodes by Dan Glaister, taken from the 1st March 1996 edition of The Guardian.
- Grow Fins (Rarities 1965-1982) by Byron Coley. Taken from the May 1999 edition of The Wire.
- Cosmic Soldier Back In The Fray With New Discs by Tom Moon. This review looks at all the Beefheart discs issued in 1999 (Grow Fins, The Dust Blows Forward, Safe As Milk and The Mirror Man Sessions) and was taken from the 27th June 1999 Philidelphia Inquirer.
- Grow Fins (Rarities 1965-1982) by Ramsay Pennypacker. Taken from the 30th June edition of the Philadelphia Weekly, 1999.
- Bully for Beef - Grow Fins by Sean O'Hagan. Taken from the 16th July edition of The Guardian's Friday Review.
- Hungry and Weird - Grow Fins and The Dust Blows Forward - by Richard Gehr, taken from the 20th July 1999 Village Voice.
- Grow Fins (Rarities 1965-1982) from the 16th July 1999 Chicago Reader by Monica Kendrick.
- My Ears Stand Up When I Hear That Sound - site exclusive by Graham Johnston, review for Grow Fins.
- Now Make A Face Like A Cat When You Do It - site exclusive by Graham Johnston, review for The Dust Blows Forward.
- Magnetic Hands by Bleddyn Butcher. Taken from the September 2002 issue of The Wire.
Career overviews
- 'Unsurpassable! The Captain's Finest Moments' - Brief overview of all the Magic Band albums and compilations, taken from April 1998 Record Collector.
- Captain Beefheart - The Primer by Mike Barnes from the April 1998 edition of The Wire. This excellent article provides an introductory overview of all of the Magic Band albums and more. Highly recommended reading.
Other reviews
- Eugene Chadbourne & Jimmy Carl Black's Pachuco Cadaver - the Beefheart tribute. Review written by Fred Mills, taken from the Tucson Weekly.
- Pachuco Cadaver and The Music Of Captain Beefheart Live - Ben Watson looks at two Beefheart tribute albums. Taken from the November 1996 edition of The Wire.
Help us out
If anyone is able to complete or update any of the information above, then please do get in touch.
If you would like to support The Radar Station, please feel free to buy all your Beefheart albums in our on-line shop, or any other books or albums after following this link to amazon.com or amazon.co.uk. Every item sold in the shop or after following this link brings The Radar Station a small amount of comission at no extra cost to you, enabling it to continue beaming out the Beefheart.
